Film Censorship

Film censorship is carried out by various countries to differing degrees, sometimes as
a result of powerful or relentless lobbying by organizations or individuals. Films that are
banned in a particular country change over time.
A motion picture rating system is designated to classify films with regard to suitability
for audiences in terms of issues such as sex, violence, substance abuse, profanity, impudence
or other types of mature content. A particular issued rating can be called a certification,
classification, certificate or rating.
The Central Board of Film Certification (often referred to as the Censor Board) is a
statutory censorship and classification body under the Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting, Government of India. It is tasked with "regulating the public exhibition of films
under the provisions of the Cinematograph Act 1952". It assigns certifications to films,
television shows, television ads, and publications for exhibition, sale or hire in India. Films
can be publicly exhibited in India only after they are certified by the Board.

came to India in 1896 when the first show at Watson hotel, Bombay
by Lumière Brothers was presented in July. As the first film in India (Raja Harishchandra) was
produced in 1913 by Dadasaheb Phalke, Indian Cinematograph Act was passed and came into
effect only in 1920. Censor Boards were placed under police chiefs in cities of Madras,
Bombay, Calcutta, Lahore and Rangoon. Regional censors were independent.
After Independence autonomy of regional censors was abolished and they were brought
under the Bombay Board of Film Censors. With implementation of Cinematograph Act, 1952,
the board was unified and reconstituted, as the Central Board of Film Censors. Cinematograph
(Certification) Rules were revised in 1983 and since then the Central Board of Film
Censors became known as the Central Board of Film Certification.
The CBFC currently issues the following certificates:
1. U- Universal
Unrestricted Public Exhibition throughout India, suitable for all age groups. Films under this
category should not upset children over 4. This rating is similar to the MPAA's G and PG and
the BBFC's U and PG ratings. Such films may contain educational, social or family-oriented
themes. Films under this category may also contain fantasy violence and/or mild bad
language.
2. UA- Parental Guidance
All ages admitted, but it is advised that children below 12 be accompanied by a parent as the
theme or content may be considered intense or inappropriate for young children. This rating
is similar to the MPAA's PG and PG-13 and the BBFC's PG and 12A ratings. Films under this
category may contain mature themes, sexual references, mild sex scenes, violence with brief
gory images and/or infrequent use of crude language.
3. A- Adults Only
Restricted to adult audiences (18 years or over). This rating is similar to the MPAA's R and
the BBFC's 15 ratings. Nobody below the age of 18 may buy/rent an A
rated DVD, VHS, UMD or watch a film in the cinema with this rating. Films under this
category may contain adult/disturbing themes, frequent crude language, brutal violence with
blood and gore, strong sex scenes and/or scenes of drug abuse which is considered unsuitable
for minors.
4. S- Restricted to any special class of persons. This rating signifies that the film is meant
for a specialised audience, such as doctors.

Film production

Film production involves several major stages:
1. Development — the first stage in which the ideas for the film are created, rights to
books/plays are bought etc., and the screenplay is written. Financing for the project has to
be sought and green lit.
2. Pre-production—Preparations are made for the shoot, in which cast and film crew are
hired, locations are selected, and sets are built.
3. Production— the raw elements for the film are recorded during the film shoot.
4. Post-Production—the images sound, and visual effects of the recorded film are edited.
5. Distribution—the finished film is distributed and screened in cinemas and/or released
on DVD.

Development
In this stage, the project's producer selects a story, which may come from a book or
a play or another film or a true story or an original idea, etc. After identifying a theme or
underlying message, the producer works with writers to prepare a synopsis. Next they
produce a step outline, which breaks the story down into one-paragraph scenes that
concentrate on dramatic structure. Then, they prepare a treatment, a 25-to-30-page
description of the story, its mood, and characters. This usually has little dialogue and stage
direction, but often contains drawings that help visualize key points. Next,
a screenwriter writes a screenplay over a period of several months. A film distributor may be
contacted at an early stage to assess the likely market and potential financial success of the
film. Hollywood distributors adopt a hard-headed business approach and consider factors
such as the film genre, the target audience, the historical success of similar films, the actors
who might appear in the film, and potential directors. All these factors imply a certain appeal
of the film to a possible audience. Not all films make a profit from the theatrical release alone,
so film companies take DVD sales and worldwide distribution rights into account.
Pre-production
In pre-production, every step of actually creating the film is carefully designed and
planned. The production company is created and a production office established. The film is
pre-visualized by the director, and may be storyboarded with the help
of illustrators and concept artists. A production budget is drawn up to plan expenditures for
the film. For major productions, insurance is procured to protect against accidents.
Storyboard is a visualizing method that creates a blueprint of what the shot sequence
should be. The visual images are drawn or made by programs such as Photoshop. There may
also be a written caption as needed for each shot. The director is primarily responsible for the
storytelling, creative decisions and acting of the film. The unit production manager manages
the production budget and production schedule. They also report, on behalf of the production
office, to the studio executives or financiers of the film.
In production, the video production/film is created and shot. More crew will be
recruited at this stage, such as the property master, script supervisor, assistant directors,
stills photographer, picture editor, and sound editors. These are just the most common roles
in filmmaking; the production office will be free to create any unique blend of roles to suit the
various responsibilities possible during the production of a film.
Post-production
Here the video/film is assembled by the video/film editor. The shot film material is
edited. The production sound (dialogue) is also edited; music tracks and songs are composed
and recorded if a film is sought to have a score; sound effects are designed and recorded. Any
computer-graphic visual effects are digitally added. Finally, all sound elements are mixed into
"stems", which are then married to picture, and the film is fully completed ("locked").
Distribution
This is the final stage, where the film is released to cinemas or, occasionally, to consumer
media (DVD, VCD, VHS, Blu-ray) or direct download from a provider. The film is duplicated as
required and distributed to cinemas for exhibition (screening). Press kits, posters, and other
advertising materials are published and the film is advertised and promoted. Film
distributors usually release a film with a launch party, press release, interviews with the
press, press preview screenings, and film festival screenings. Most films have a website. The
film plays at selected cinemas and the DVD typically is released a few months later. The
distribution rights for the film and DVD are also usually sold for worldwide distribution. The
distributor and the production company share profits.
Filmmaking also takes place outside of the mainstream and is commonly
called independent filmmaking. Since the introduction of DV technology, the means of
production have become more democratized. Filmmakers can conceivably shoot and edit a
film, create and edit the sound and music, and mix the final cut on a home computer.
However, while the means of production may be democratized, financing, traditional
distribution and marketing remain difficult to accomplish outside the traditional system. In
the past, most independent filmmakers have relied on film festivals to get their films noticed
and sold for distribution. However, the Internet has allowed for relatively inexpensive
distribution of independent films. As a result several companies have emerged to assist
filmmakers in getting independent movies seen and sold via mainstream internet
marketplaces, oftentimes adjacent to popular Hollywood titles. With internet movie
distribution, independent filmmakers who fail to garner a traditional distribution deal now
have the ability to reach global audiences.
The distribution of a film (or movie) is the process through which a movie is made available
to watch for an audience by a film distributor.

Mise-en-scène (Film Studies)

Mise-en-scène is a French term which means, literally, "put in the scene." For film, it has
a broader meaning, and refers to almost everything that goes into the composition of the shot,
including the composition itself: framing, movement of the camera and characters, lighting,
set design and general visual environment, even sound as it helps elaborate the
composition. Mise-en-scène can be defined as the articulation of cinematic space, and it is
precisely space that it is about. Mise-en-scène is an expression used to describe
the design aspects of a theatre or film production, which essentially means "visual theme" or
"telling a story" both in visually artful ways through storyboarding, cinematography and stage
design, and in poetically artful ways through direction. Mise-en-scène has been called film
criticism's "grand undefined term".
When applied to the cinema, mise-en-scène refers to everything that appears before
the camera and its arrangement—composition, sets, props, actors, costumes, sounds, and
lighting. The “mise-en-scène”, along with the cinematography and editing of a film, influence
the verisimilitude of a film in the eyes of its viewers. The various elements of design help
express a film’s vision by generating a sense of time and space, as well as setting a mood, and
sometimes suggesting a character’s state of mind. “Mise-en-scène” also includes the
composition, which consists of the positioning and movement of actors, as well as objects, in
the shot. in French film credits, the
director's title is metteur en scène, "placer on scene."